Literally "lacquer
coating." Lacquer ware is also called shikki (lacquer ware) or
nurimono (coated things). Japanese lacquer is a highly toxic
nonresinous sap from the Rhus verniciflua tree (the same genus of poison
ivy and poison oak) which hardens rather than dries. The poisonous aspect
of the medium generally limits its use to special artisans. Lacquer
construction has three stages : kiji, or forming the base, body,
or core of wood or sometimes basketry, leather and paper ; application of
lacquer coatings to seal and protect the object; and decoration of the
surface. Application of urushi differs regionally, but there are three
basic types of lacquer coats: undercoats shitaji, middle coats
naka-nuri, and final coats uwa-nuri. Some styles omit
the nakanuri, while the final coat always uses the most highly
refined lacquer because this is the surface which is decorated. In gold
decoration makie, the final coat is a high-gloss,
transparent lacquer rouiro. In Japan red-and-black-lacquered
earhenware pots date from ca. 4500 BC. After 1599 systems for culivating
lacquer trees and improving lacquering techniques were developed. In the
18c, colored lacquers and makie became widespread. There are several
basic lacquer techniques, but decorative techniques are numerous.
Ikkanbari, also called harinuki, is a paper-based
lacquer used for teawares. Layers of lacquer-glued paper are applied to
the interior of a mold and coated with lacquer when removed from the mold.
Hirai Ikkan (1578-1657), a naturalized Chinese reportedly invented
the technique in the Kan'ei era (1624-44) when he became lacquer master
to Sen Soutan (1578-1658). Iro-urushi is a multi-colored
lacquer in which ganryou (pigments) are mixed into suki-urushi
(clear lacquer). Traditionally only five natural pigments (red,
black, yellow, green and brown) were used, but since the Meiji period
white and neutral tints were made chemically. Shunkei-nuri is a
technique of applying transparent urushi over wood grain so the
natural wood pattern shows through. Popular in the 17c, it was reportedly
invented by a 14c lacquermaster named Shunkei. A variety of lacquer
types evolved in regional production centers. Negoro-nuri was
made at Negoroji in Wakayama prefecture. The red surface wears to
reveal the underlying black; this effect was later deliberately imitated.
Tsugaru-nuri is made in Tsugaru, Aomori prefecture. Muliple
layers of colored lacquer (usually green, red, yellow and brown) produce a
spotted-marbled effect. The technique reportedly was used first in 1685 by
Ikeda Gentarou, the son of lacquer master Ikeda Genbee.
Aizu-nuri has been made in the Aizu area of Fukushima
prefecture from the late 16c, with peak output in 1878. There are two
methods of priming. In the shibushitaji process, lamp black is
mixed with persimmon tannin and applied as a primer then burnished when
dry ; or persimmon tannin is applied alone, and burnished, before lacquer
is applied. In the sabishitaji technique a clay-like primer is
applied and burnished when hard. A lacquer undercoat follows the
sabi and, after burnishing, intermediate and final coats are
applied. The Aizu region also developed chinkin, incising a
design into the lacquer surface, then applying a thin layer of lacquer and
applying gold dust or gold foil to the tacky lacquer. Jouhana-nuri, also called jouhana makie
(jigoemon-nuri),
was developed in Jouhana in Toyama prefecture by Hata Jigoemon
and Hata Tokuzaemon in the early 17c. It uses techniques of mitsuda-e and keifun-makie
and has a white color. In akasa-nuri, made since ca. 1660 at Wakasa
in Fukui prefecture, layers of different colored lacquers are applied to a
ground roughened by the addition of pieces of egg shell or rice chaff.
Thin gold or silver foil is pressed into the indentations and a coating of
transparent lacquer is applied then polished to make a smooth surface.
Kuroe-nuri, also called kainan shikki , is made in
Kuroe, Kainan city, Wakayama prefecture. In 1826, professional
lacquer craftmen were invited to Osaka; in the Ansei era (1854-60)
makie was introduced; in 1879 the chinkinbori (lacquer
ware inlaid with gold) technique was introduced by Kyoto craftsmen.

@

Urushi-e@½G

1@Painting done with colored lacquer
iro-urushi, made by mixing pigments in a base of transparent
lacquer suki-urusi. Until the Edo period, five colors - red,
black, yellow, green, and light brown - were available through the use of
natural pigments. White lacquer was not produced until the mid 19c. One
extant example of urushi-e dates back to the early Joumon period: a
fragment of earthenware decorated with a simple pattern in red lacquer was
found in the Torihama shellmound kaizuka, in Fukui
prefecture. The decoration on the Tamamushi miniature shrine, Tamamushi no zushi
(mid-7c) in Houryuuji
, Nara, is thought to be done by mixed techniques of urushi-e
and mitsuda-e . From the Nara period, painting in red
lacquer against a black background was favored by aristocrats for
lacquered wood utensils and furniture. Around the Momoyama period (16c)
daily and ceremonial lacquerware decorated with colorful urushi-e
or mitsuda-e became very popular. Complicated designs of flowers,
birds, animals, and scenes from old stories were depicted and often made
more decorative by using gold powders sunago and gold leafkimpaku. Local traditions of painted lacquerware
continue in many areas today.

2@A
type of early hand-colored ukiyo-e woodblock print. Animal collagen glue
nikawa was added to black ink sumi to give a lustrous appearance, which was
reminiscent of black lacquer. It was used primarily for hairstyles and
costume details such as obi. In part to balance the strong black
areas, other colors were made brighter. Bronze or brass powder as well as
fine mica flakes ummo were sometimes sprinkled onto these
prints. Urushi-e was used primarily in the Kyouhou era
(1716-36), and in the Kampou era (1741-44), but can be seen as late as
1764 on large works. The technique appears on the prints of artists such
as Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764), Nishimura Shigenaga
(1697?-1756) and the Torii school Toriiha masters Torii Kiyonobu
(1664-1729) and Kiyomasu (fl.c.1696-1716).

@

Ukiyo-e@¢G

Lit.
pictures of the floating world. Paintings and woodblock prints of genre
themes developed from late 17c to late 19c (mid-Edo to early Meiji
periods), supported by the people in the middle class of society
shomin, or ("common people") mainly in the city of Edo. Because
of this locality, ukiyo-e was also called edo-e or azuma-e, (lit. eastern
pictures), during the Edo period. In the
broader sense of the term, however, ukiyo-e includes various local
paintings appreciated by common people in the Edo period all over Japan,
such as ootsu-e (comical, folk painting
produced in Ootsu, Shiga prefecture), nagasaki hanga (woodblock prints depicting
foreign people and objects seen in Nagasaki, Nagasaki prefecture), and
kamigata-e (woodblock prints) produced in the
Kyoto-Osaka area kamigata, mostly portrayals of the kabuki (actors popular there).
The term ukiyo-e, which is first found in literature during the first half
of the 1680's, derives from the fact that they depict the activities of a
transient ("floating"), but therefore enjoyable world. Pictures of
beautiful women bijinga and young boys, particularly the
courtesans of the pleasure quarters yuujo, scenes from
kabuki plays shibai-e and portraits of popular actors
yakusha-e, and pornographic pictures shunga are the three major subjects of
ukiyo-e. Literary themes taken from poems and stories from Japan
and China were also popular, pictures of heroic warriors musha-e being particularly favoured
throughout the period. Often the classic themes were parodied or
represented in mundane, contemporary circumstances. Ukiyo-e were
mass-produced in order to fulfill a great demand among middle-class
people, who were their major appreciators. Therefore, the principal form
of ukiyo-e were woodblock prints, which were planned by the
publisher hanmoto and produced in collaboration with the
painter/designer eshi, carver horishi and printer
surishi. Even hand-paintings nikuhitsuga were produced in large quantities in
workshops under the direction of a master artist who designed the product,
supervised its coloring by his pupils and signed them . Because of the
vagaries of this studio system several versions of the same painting with
slight differences often exist in ukiyo-e.Art historically,
ukiyo-e is placed at the end of the development of kinseishoki fuuzokuga
(genre painting of the Early Modern period). Although early ukiyo-e artists signed
themselves as painters of yamato-e suggesting that ukiyo-e
succeeded the tradition of native Japanese paintings, the influence of
various pictorial styles of the period, including that of the Kanouha, Tosaha, youfuuga (western style painting) and shaseiga (realistic painting), can be found in
ukiyo-e . The history of ukiyo-e can be devided into three
periods. Period 1) Meireki to Houreki eras (1655-1764)
Ukiyo-e prints derived from book illustrations. Book publishing
had been popular in the kamigata (Kyoto-Osaka) area already in
the early 17c, but after the disastrous fire of 1657, books began to be
published in Edo. The proportion of illustrations in a book became bigger
and bigger, and at last the texts became only one fifth of a whole page.
The next step was for illustrations to become independent of the text and
appreciated for themselves. Like Hishikawa Moronobu's (?-1694)
"Scenes of Yoshiwara" Yoshiwara no tai, they typically
consisted of a set kumimono of twelve prints, which mostly depicted
scenes from popular stories or pornography. Ukiyo-e is generally
thought to have originated with Moronobu, who declared in the preface of
the book he illustrated, "Monthly Amusements" Tsukinami no Asobi
(1683), that he invented "ukiyo-e" and became a leading
painter. Around 1700, single-sheet woodblock prints ichimai-e began to be sold alone and became the
dominant form in Edo. To begin with the prints were all in black sumi, sumizuri-e , with occasional
hand colouring fudezaishiki (lit. brush coloring) added
separately. Very strong, orange-red tan, or "lead-red" and in some cases green were
boldly applied to the drawings with strong, wavy lines in tan-e
. Moronobu's paintings of beauties and/or of the pleasure
quarters were succeeded by the work of artists of the Kaigetsudou school
Kaigetsudouha which lasted for only about a
generation. At the same time the artists of the Torii school Toriiha, which is still in existance today
took in a monopoly in kabuki theatrical posters and actor prints.
Torii Kiyonobu (1664-1729) and Kiyomasu (act. early 18c) invented
a unique manner with strong stylisation in tan-e for depicting
kabuki actors, and established the Torii school. In the first
half of 18c, beni-e became prominent, lit. vermillion
painting, in which lighter, rose-red paint/ink made of safflowers beni and light green kusajiru (lit.
grass sap,) were more meticulously applied on more sophisticated drawings
with thinner lines. In order to give an accent to prints that were
otherwise too simple, hair and obi belts, etc. were often
highlighted with dark, glossy black, made by adding nikawa glue to sumi, in urushi-e ("lacquer painting" because of the
gloss). In 1774, with the invention of kentou, color impressions irohan began
to be added to the keyblock impression omohan in sumi. Because rose-red and
grass-green were the primary colors, they were called benizuri-e. Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764),
who produced excellent beni prints during this period, was an
innovative artist with many new ideas, such as a triptych with a
continuous composition soroimono, in long vertical format to be hung a
pillar hashira-e, as well as uki-e, lit. floating pictures, a print
characterised by experimental application with an exaggerrated use of
western perspective. Period 2) Meiwa to Kansei ­ eras
(1764-1801)The latter half of 18c is considered to be the classical
period of ukiyo-e in terms of artistic quality. The technique of
ukiyo-e prints reached its peak when multi-colored woodblock prints
nishiki-e (lit. brocade pictures) were
produced for extravagant calendars (e-goyomi, lit. painting
calendar,) by Suzuki Harunobu (1725-70) in 1765. Harunobu's lovely,
doll-like figures in classical and/or poetic settings (often in
mitate-e) were replaced by slender ladies in contemporary settings
as painted by Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) in the 1780's. Kiyonaga's
beauties are often in groups, and painted on a set of two or three sheets
of paper with a continuous composition. Kitagawa Utamaro (1754-1806)
was the most popular painter of beauties in the 1790's. He depicted not
only courtesans but also ordinary women, often as a bust ookubi-e, and successfully depicted the inner
emotions of the ladies depicted by their subtle expressions and gestures.
Prints of kabuki actors were still produced by Torii school
artists, and their formal style became a standard. In 1770's, Katsukawa
Shunshou (1726-92) created more realistic portraits nigao-e
(lit. likeness painting) of actors, which have been popular ever
since. In 1794, Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825) published a series of
"full-length portraits of actors" Yakusha butai no sugata-e
. His eclectic style depicting the dramatic postures of actors
became extremely successful and eventually led to the establishment of the
Utagawaha, the dominant ukiyo-e school
in 19c. On the other hand, Toushuusai Sharaku (act. 1794) published
a series of close-up portraits ookubi-e of actors in May 1794. His
extremely realistic works seemed sensational at that time, but his style
may have been too radical for ordinary people, and ten months later his
name suddenly disappeared from the records. Period 3) Kyouwa
to Keiou eras (1801-68) After 1800, ukiyo-e prints were
produed in much larger quantities with wider variations of themes, such as
landscapes, birds and flowers, historical stories and warriors, satiric
and/or comical cartoons, in addition to the beauties, actors, and
pornography. Pictures designed for toys omocha-e, such as
playing cards, kites, etc, are also generally included. The artists of
the Utagawa school were the most prosperous, but their pictures of the
beauties and actors became stylized and manneristic. Two of the most
well-known masters of landscape prints in this period are Katsushika
Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (also known as Andou
Hiroshige, 1797-1858). Hokusai's well-structured landscapes,
represented by the "Thirty-six Views of Mt.Fuji" Fugaku
Sanjuurokkei (1831-33), contrast with Hiroshige's intimate
views as found in the "Fifty-three Stations on the Toukaidou" Toukaidou
Gojuusantsugi (1833). Another artist worth noting is
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), who became particularly popular in
warrior prints, caricatures, and contemporary townscapes. The
introduction of photography and lithography sekihanga put an
end to the innovative developement of ukiyo-e, and Kobayashi
Kiyochika (1847-1915) is often thought to be the last true
ukiyo-e painter. As interest in ukiyo-e declined in Japan
after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, many works were exported while others
were simply used as wrapping paper. The art of ukiyo-e woodblock
prints underwent great re-evaluation in Europe and America in late 19c to
early 20c, and greatly influenced the artistic movements of Impressionism
and Art Nouveau.

@

Makie@ªG

Lit.
"sprinkled picture." A technique which originated in the Heian period for
lacquer ware decoration in which designs are made by scattering adhesive
metal or color powder in soft lacquer or directly on wood. Commonly used
powders are gold, silver, aokin (an alloy of gold and silver),
tin, shakudou (an alloy of copper and gold), gunmetal,
an alloy of three parts copper to one of silver, brass, lead, aluminum,
platinum, pewter, and kanshitsufun (dry-lacquer powder). Paint
powders include yasurifun (coarse flakes produced by filing),
hiramefun (flattened coarse flakes), nashijifun
(fine flakes used for pearskin lacquer decoration), marufun
(grain-shaped flakes) and keshifun (frosted gold leaf). Two
kinds of soft brushes are used for line drawing and applying the first
coat: funzutsu (a bamboo tube with a silk or gauze net for
laying powder) and tsumeban (made of water-buffalo horn or
tortoise shell for lacquer paint). Also used are the jouban (box
table), wide hake brush and hair stick. Techniques are divided
into three types. In the togidashi makie (burnished
makie) technique popular in the Heian period, after the low relief
sprinkled design and ground harden, they are covered in transparent or
black lacquer, then polished down with charcoal until the design is flush
with the new ground. Togidashi largely replaced the makkinru
àèZ technique in which coarse gold filings were sprinkled over the wet
design surface, relacquered, and polished until the design was revealed.
Hiramakie (flat makie), introduced in the Kamakura
period, features sprinkled powders applied directly on the smooth
lacquered surface in very low relief so only the thickness of the final
protective lacquer coating is raised above the surface. In
takamakie (raised makie), developed in the Muromachi
period, metallic powders are applied to soft surface designs built up
through a mixture of lacquer and charcoal or clay dust. They are affixed
by a protective lacquer coat and polished. Cut metal shapes kirikane and metal nacre, kanagai
techniques are often used in conjunction. Shishiai makie or
shishiai togidashi makie a combination of the
takamakie and togidashimakie techniques, was used frequently
in landscapes where such elements as rocks, clouds, or mountains are done
in a raised design that slopes gently into a flattened design.
Ikakeji a precursor to the fundami technique, is the
process through which a ground is made by the heavy sprinkling of gold or
silver powder in one coat. Makie application techniques include
tsukegaki (drawing with narrow lacquer lines and oversprinkling
with gold and silver filings), kakiwari (design motifs are
emphasised with liqued lacquer and sprinkled gold and silver, while
boarders are left plain), and abisemaki (entire flower petals
or leaves are scattered with gold fillings, and then outlines and veins
are presented in higher or lower relief). Sprinkling techniques include
jimaki (metal filings or pigment are deposited on the background
of design motifs), chirimaki (coarse filings of gold or silver
are sprinkled over the lacquered surface of an object), heijin
(where additional lacquer is applied over chirimaki decoration and
then polished away with abrasives after it dries), and ikakeji (a
type of jimaki where gold and silver powder is sprinkled densely
over the lacquered ground), hirameji (filed and pressed coarse
metal flakes are sprinkled over a half-dry lacquer surface, recoated, and
finally polished to expose metal flakes), and nashiji. Such
techniques asraden (lacquerware with mother-of-pearl
inlay), hyoumon (imbedding of shapes cut out from gold, silver
or tin sheets) may be used. Makie objects were first made as
household goods for court nobles. Soon military leaders became patrons and
makie styles evolved to serve new tastes. Nashiji (pear-skin
ground), is the name given to two widely-used styles invented in the
Kamakura period. In one, large irregular shaped gold flakes are scattered
at differing angles in many layers in wet nashiji urushi a
highly translucent lacquer that has been tinted orange; a further coating
is applied and polishing exposes the flakes to produce an uneven surface
texture. It is often used to give a uniformly decorative surface to large
but less important areas, such as the insides of drawers or the bottoms of
boxes. In the other nashiji technique, a fine metallic powder is
sprinkled onto a lacquered surface; when dry, a coat of transparent
lacquer is applied and lightly polished. Under the shogun Ashikaga
Yoshimasa (ruled 1449-74), lacquers in the so-called Higashiyama
style flourished. Kouami Douchou (1410-78), the first lacquer master
linked to specific works, used designs by such contemporary painters as
Tosa Mitsunobu (1434-1525), Nouami (1397-1471), and Souami
(d. 1525). Kouami and another makie master, Igarashi Shinsai
(act mid-15c), started the two earliest schools of lacquer under direct
shogunal patronage. The Kouami school Kouamiha continued in a direct
line of descent to make lacquer ware for the shogunate until the 19c,
typically with designs inspired by master painters of the Kanou school Kanouha. A rival was the Igarashi school
Igarashiha founded by Igarashi Shinsai under Ashikaga Yoshimasa and
continuing through the 17c. Ryuukyuu shikki made in Okinawa
and the Amami Islands, was made from about 1500. Influenced by Chinese
lacquer styles, the tsuikin technique derived from ryuukyuu
shikki. Tsuikin consisted of making a dough from lacquer
solution and colored pigments, rolling this out, punching or cutting this
into engraved patterns, and applying to the surface of a lacquered object.
In the Momoyama period, a new, ultra-refined style of hiramakie was
called koudaiji makie. Associated with the temple Koudaiji
Kyoto, it used a black lacquer base decorated in the hiramakie
style with e-nashiji (sprinkling coarse flakes of gold over
the whole surface or the background space on lacquerware), and
harigaki (engraving in lacquer with a needle). In the early Edo
period, a special lacquer ware which mixed mother-of-pearl inlay with
hiramakie was called nanban makie or nanban
shitsugei. Displaying mostly Portuguese or Dutch motifs it is
found most often on trunks made for the European export market. In the Edo
period, Honnami Kouetsu (1558-1637) and Ogata Kourin
(1658-1716) developed their own designs and techniques. At the end of the
Edo period, techniques became more complicated, but the quality of
materials declined and expression became
perfunctory.

@

Wajima Chinkin

Also called chinkinbori a technique developed in Aizunuri that involves cutting a design into a
lacquered surface, applying a thin layer of lacquer into the incised lines, then applying gold foil, gold dust, or colored dust over the
soft lacquer to form a contrast with the ground. When the lacquer dries, the gold is cemented into the incised design.Introduced from
China to Japan in the Muromachi period; Wajima lacquerware, wajima chinkin was further developed in the later Edo period.

@

Kirikane@Øà

Lit. cut-gold. 1@Metal foil, haku generally gold or silver, cut into long,
thin strips, or, triangular, square, and lozenge shapes systematically
arranged to form lines or a decorative pattern on sculptures and paintings
(see kirihaku). Exquisite use of kirikane is
often found in the decoration of the robes of Buddhist images. The
technique was passed down from Tang China and reached Japan around 7c
(Hakuhou period). Kirikane is found on the late 7c "Four Guardian
Kings" Shitennou in the Golden Hall, Kondou of Houryuuji and on
the 8c "Four Guardian Kings" at Toudaiji . The kirikane
technique was popular in the late Heian period (9-12c) for both sculpture
and painting. An outstanding example from this period is the 12c painting
of Bodhisattava Kokuuzou in the Tokyo National Museum. In the early
13c (Kamakura period) examples of the designs became more delicate and
complicated, but often conventional and stylized. Since the mid-13c gold
outlines tended to be drawn in gold paint (kindei and
thereafter the use of kirikane declined. 2@A
decorative technique used on makie (gold and silver applied to lacquer). A
thin sheet of metal, generally gold or silver, is cut into squares,
rectangles and triangles and affixed with lacquer forming clouds, mist,
ground, trees and rocks. This technique was first developed in the
Kamakura period and soon became highly prized for its ornate quality.

@

Kirihaku@Ø

Lit.
cut-foil. A method of ornamentation using gold and/or silver leaf cut
haku into different shaped pieces and applied to
various surfaces with rice paste or lacquer. The term also applies to cut
foil itself. The kirikane technique was developed in the 10c-11c
(mid Heian period) and was most commonly used to decorate writing papers,
sutras, illustrated handscrolls, e-maki and screens. Different names are given to
the various sizes and shapes of kirihaku in accordance with their
resemblance to natural objects: large pieces are called ishi or
"stones"; fine, long, narrow pieces noge for their resemblance to the tips or
'beards' of pampas grass; smaller square pieces arare
"hailstones", or sansho "black pepper"; and the finest ones
sunago for their similarity to grains of sand.
Those lacking a specific form are called momihaku because they
appear rubbed rather than cut. Kirihaku is similar to kirikane but kirihaku is sprinkled over a
surface, not deliberately pasted, thus the resultant pattern is irregular
and spontaneous.

@

Haku@

Lit.
foil or leaf. Gold, silver, copper, tin or brass pounded into a thin flat
sheet and used for the decoration of art works and craft objects. Gold
kinpaku and silver ginpaku were most frequently used.
A thin block of metal is wrapped in leather or washi (Japanese paper) and pounded with a wooden
or bamboo mallet until it is about 1/10,000 of 1mm in thickness (the
Heian/Kamakura examples are thicker). The sheets are then cut into
approximately 10cm-squares. Most metal foils are made in Kyoto and
Kanazawa. The technique of affixing gold foil to the surface of an object
with lacquer or glue nikawa is called kinpakuoshi. The
earliest known example of haku in Japan is found on the wall
painting of Takamatsuzuka tomb (late 7c-early 8c). During the Nara and
Heian periods (7-12c), gold and silver foil were frequently used as
decoration on Buddhist paintings and sculptures, as well as on writing
paper. In a technique called shippaku gold/silver foil was pressed on top of
lacquer applied to wood or to dry lacquer kanshitsu sculpture. Foil cut into small pieces
was used to make exquisite designs on the garments of Buddhist deities
kirikane and also sprinkled over the surface of
writing papers for decoration kirihaku. Sometimes foil was applied to the back
of a painting to produce a soft, lusterous sheen on the metal ornaments
held by Buddhist deities urahaku. From the Muromachi period, gold foil,
which was favoured by the shoguns, was amply used for extravagant
architectural decoration, such as Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's (1358-1408)
Golden Pavilion, Rokuonji Kinkaku and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's
(1536?-98) Golden Teahouse, Kin no chashitsu. Gold foil also was
used extensively for interior decoration, and the gold background kinji of paintings on screens and sliding doors
kinpeki shouhekiga. Gold/silver foil is also
frequently used to decorate craft objects. It is affixed to lacquerware
haku-e and pressed onto textiles. Generally gold and silver foil
is applied inkin with glue or lacquer, however, during the
Momoyama period (16-17c), a variation of this technique using rice paste
as a bonding agent became popular (surihaku with embroidery), it
is called nuihaku.

@

Sunago@»q

A type
of foil (kirihaku), usually gold or silver, cut so finely
that the pieces are as minute as grains of sand (suna). It is
then sprinkled from a bamboo cylinder with small holes at the bottom over
a thin layer of glue (nikawa) or lacquer which has been brushed across
the areas to be decorated. Since the late Heian period (12c), paintings,
lacquerware and sutra or writing papers have been decorated with sunago,
which produces a soft but rich effect. The famous "Heike noukyou"
sutra is a fine example of this technique and other types of
cut-foil application. In paintings sunago is used in place of
pigments to represent ground or mist as well as to suggest empty space.

@

@

Yamato-e

A widely used description term which has carried
various nuances in different periods, but generally applied to paintings
whose subject matter, format and/or style are considered "Japanese," as
opposed to something "foreign," or "Chinese." The term is derived from an
ancient name for the Nara area where the earliest Japanese emperors (by
the 6c) established the Yamato åa court. The earliest documented use of
the term yamato-e dates from the late 10c, but it is likely that by
the late 9c Heian aristocrats had come to decorate their residences with
folding screen byoubu and panel shouji paintings of landscapes with geographic
features, seasonal references, or other genre elements that were
recognizably Japanese. These secular types of subject matter including
meisho-e and tsukinami-e (also shiki-e) were all called yamato-e to
distinguish them from paintings with Chinese landscape or genre subject
matter which were called kara-e. No large-scale Heian secular painting
survives; however, fragmentary evidence of existing records and religious
paintings suggest that yamato-e was painted in the same prevailing
style as kara-e. Kara-e style was based on the Chinese Six
Dynasties or Early Tang expression and techniques, and generally employed
bright-colored, opaque pigments with figures clearly outlined and detailed
in black sumi ink. In the Heian period small size paintings
in handscroll or booklet format with Japanese subject matter were usually
termed story illustrations monogatari-e or poetry paintings
uta-e not yamato-e. Thus, in its earliest
use, yamato-e seems to have referred to subject matter and/or
format. By the 12c, the application of yamato-e broadened with
the introduction of ink painting suibokuga by Zen T monks who had come from or
studied in Yuan or Ming China. The new ink painting was clearly Chinese
and was therefore given the name kara-e (or later kanga). With this change in the definition of
kara-e came a change in the definition of yamato-e. During
the middle ages yamato-e came to mean any painting in the tradition
of the brightly colored style favored by the Heian court in any format
(handscrolls included) regardless of subject matter. Ink-painting
flourished because of its connection with the Zen establishment,
particularly among the warrior ruling classes. The new conservative style
of yamato-e was favored by the court and aristocracy as a means of
preserving the remnants of their power and cultural prestige. The
aristocracy perpetuated the old rituals by both practising and patronizing
the courtly arts of Japanese-style poetry and Japanese-style calligraphy,
both of which are inextricably linked with yamato-e. The painters
at the official atelier edokoro were therefore given great incentive to
continue working in the yamato-e style. Their subjects came from
the waka (Japanese poetry) anthologies, or the great tales of
courtly romance and history in such works as GENJI MONOGATARI
(The Tale of Genji), or HEIKE MONOGATARI (The
Tale of The Heike), which often recalled the golden past
of the court. Often these themes were imbued with a Buddhist awareness of
the transcience of privilage, status and indeed of all life, themes which
had a particular irony, considering the troubled times that existed
outside the court during the late Kamakura and Muromachi periods.
After the 15c, when successive generations of the Tosa familyTosaha assumed headship azukari of
the edokoro, yamato-e came to refer to paintings whose style
was increasingly miniaturist and gilded. By the 16c, other distinct
painting schools began to flourish, particularly the Kanou school Kanouha and yamato-e therefore became
more deeply identified with the Tosa and related Sumiyoshi family Sumiyoshiha. Yamato-e also influenced
the Rinpa and ukiyo-e styles. In the late
Edo period (late 18c/early 19c) artists following Tanaka Totsugen
(1767-1823), such as Ukida Ikkei (1795-1859), and Okada Tamechika
(1823-64), studied yamato-e from earlier periods (especially
the Tosa tradition) and attempted to revive its style and themes. Many
affiliated with the Yamato-e Revivalist School (Fukko
yamato-eha) took dangerous political risks supporting a
monarchist restoration in opposition to the failing Tokugawa
government. Yamato-e continued to influence painters in the Meiji
period (late 19c) particularly those whose particular interest was
historic themes rekishigaha for one. Even in the 20c,
yamato-e influenced the broad range of painting known as nihonga which employs the traditional
yamato-e pigment and tools, as well as some of its style and
themes.

Kachouga

Lit.
bird-and-flower painting. Paintings of birds and flowers, flowers only
kakiga, insects, plants souchuuga, or domestic animals reimouga
. The bird-and-flower theme was a major one in yamato-e painting, although only those on
lacquerware and metalwork survive from before the Kamakura period. The
oldest extant paintings which treat bird-and-flower as an independent
theme are the Muromachi period monochrome ink paintings done by Zen T
monks, influenced by paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties sougenga. Influenced by Chinese Academic
painting, professional artists in the 15c. began painting polychrome
depictions of a bird-and-flower on screens. In many cases birds and
flowers placed in a landscape setting progress seasonally across the
screens from right to left or vice versa shiki kachou-zu. Kanou School, Kanouha artists are credited with creating a
new style by synthesizing the ink-painting brushwork of Chinese painting
with the flat, bright colors and abundant use of gold in traditional
yamato-e painting. In the Momoyama period, bird-and-flower motifs
were set against a brilliant gold background using gold leaf and painted
on large-scale screen and walls in the interiors of residential castles.
Two distinct styles
emerged in the Edo period: the decorative rendering of flowers and grasses
by Rinpa artists; and the naturalistic style by
the artists of the Maruyama Shijouha, who synthesized the
decorative yamato-e tradition with a fresh view of nature. Later,
woodblock print, ukiyo-e artists like Andou Hiroshige
(1797-1858) also employed bird-and flower designs.

Kanouha school

A
hereditary school of professional artists, patronized by military
governments from the late Muromachi (15c) to the early Meiji periods
(19c). The Kanou school produced a large number of talented and
distinguished painters, who worked in a wide variety of formats and styles
on themes such as Buddhist subjects, Chinese figures, bird-and-flower
paintings, animals, landscapes, genre paintings fuuzokuga nanban screens (nanban
byoubu) and even maps of Japan and the world. The founder of the
school, Kanou Masanobu (1434-1530), was a painter of samurai
origin and succeeded Oguri Soutan (1413-81) as an official painter
goyou-eshi to the Muromachi shogunate. He
worked on both ink-painting suibokuga a new trend started by the 14c Zen T
priest-painters, and colorful yamato-e of Japanese origin. In ink-painting,
in particular, he invented an original style employing light colors and
simple compositions, which became very popular among the military
government at that time. Kanou Motonobu (1476-1559), Masanobu's son,
further strengthened the school by expanding his social and political
connections to the upper strata of Muromachi society. Motonobu is credited
with having established the orthodox Kanou style by combining
yamato-e themes and techniques with ink-painting. This achievement
is called by modern scholars the "synthesis of Japanese and Chinese"
wakan yuugou. Motonobu also instituted a studio system that
ensured the continued training of generations of painters. His son, Shouei
(1519-92) passed this tradition on to the next, his own son, Eitoku
(1543-90), who established a new heroic style. Patronized by Oda Nobunaga
(1534-82) and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), Eitoku produced
monumental works at various rulers' castles and mansions. Responding to
the demands of both patronage and architecture, Eitoku created a new,
magnificent and brilliant style of painting on gold-foil backgrounds kinpeki shouhekiga. Huge trees, regal
animals such as tigers, hawks and lions, as well as Chinese figural themes
became part of these aggressive and confident designs. A representative
example of Eitoku's grand style is the pair of huge screens called the
"Chinese Lions" (Karajishi-zu) Imperial Collection. Eitoku also
employed genre themes. A pair of screens of the "Scenes In and Around
Kyoto" (Rakuchuu rakugai-zu) Uesugi collection, was
recorded to have been presented by Nobunaga to General Uesugi Kenshin
(1530-78) in 1574. It is often cited as a forerunner of genre painting as
developed in the 17c. Other early Kanou artists who employed genre themes
included Kanou Hideyori (d.1557) "Maple Viewing of Mt Takao";
(Takao kanpuu-zu) Tokyo National Museum), Naganobu
(1577-1654) "Merrymaking Under the Cherry Blossoms" (Kaka yuuraku-zu)
Tokyo National Museum and Naizen (1570-1616) "Houkoku
Festival" (Houkoku sairei-zu) Houkoku Jinja Kyoto). Two
major Kanou artists of the late 16c were Mitsunobu (1561-1608),
Eitoku's son, and Sanraku (1559-1635), Eitoku's disciple. These
painters did not continue their master's monumental style but worked in
their own manner, characterized by more fragmented compositions, quieter
moods, delicacy, elegance and decorativeness. Sanraku's heir, Sansetsu
(1589-1651), became the leader of the Kanou school in Kyoto Kyouganou (1631-97), Sansetsu's
son, is most famous as the author of the HONCHOU GASHI one of the earliest biographical
histories of the artists of Japan. It was Mitsunobu and his followers who
started to serve Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616). Mitsunobu twice went to
Edo, where the Tokugawa government was established in 1603. The major
Kanou artist of the early Edo period was Tan'yuu (1602-74), Mitsunobu's
nephew, a child prodigy who became the first official painter to the
Tokugawa shogunate in 1617 at the age of 16. Tan'yuu with his brothers
Naonobu (1607-50) and Yasunobu (1614-85) worked to decorate two
magnificent structures built at the time: Nijoujou Kyoto, in 1626 and
the Jourakuden of Nagoyajou in 1634. Tan'yuu created a unique
style, particularly in ink painting, which was characterized by the use of
wide empty space, plain composition and refined brushwork and was to be
influential for a long time. In the mid-17c Tan'yuu's brothers also became
official painters for the Tokugawa family, and thus the core of the Kanou
school moved to Edo. In Edo there were four major branches oku-eshi and twelve minor branches omote-eshi of the Kanou school employed by the
shogunate. In addition, many daimyou employed artists in the
same mould who were in the most part able students and followers of the
upper level Kanou artists. The various Kanou painters thus secured a
virtual monopoly of the commisions among the Tokugawa military elite. Some
artists trained in the Kanou ateliers, however, were not patronized and
opened shops in towns michiganou and formed the level of the
Kanou organization. Some were allowed to use the Kanou family name, while
others used their own family names. The Kanou school overwhelmed the world
of Edo painting. All who had any ambition in painting came to a greater or
lesser degree under the influence of the school. Kanou painting in the
latter half of the Edo period was characterized by the eclectic manner
originated by Tan'yuu with additional elements derived from Rinpa works and even touches of naturalism.
Other features of the school include the practices of repeating the same
subject matter and copying their masters' works in order to both polish
their skills and maintain the school's tradition. Minutely codified
formulations extending even to the manner of holding and moving the brush
were passed down from master to pupil. The school eventually became so
orthodox and dogmatic that progressive painters, while receiving some
training from Kanou painters, often disassociated themselves from the
school in the end. Among the painters who had dropped out from the Kanou
organization, Kusumi Morikage (act. mid-17c) and Hanabusa Itchou
(1652-1724) are especially well-known. Although the Kanou school lost
official patronage after the beginning of the Meiji period (1868), several
artists with strong connections to the Kanou school rose to prominance.
Kanou Hougai (1828-88), Hashimoto Gahou (1835-1908) and Kawanabe
Gyousai (1831-89) all served for years as Kanou school painters
before developing their own styles and professional careers on an
independent basis.